Continental TerrainContact A/T Review

It was tire love at first sight when we learned of the Continental TerrainContact A/T and its claimed qualities. Continental's 3 year all-terrain project reportedly culminated in a tire that delivers the goods off-road, but also maintains on-road comfort, and offers strong winter/snow traction to boot. Preach!

Full disclosure: We're not real deal off-roaders. Our Jeep Grand Cherokee Altitude (with 20s…) doesn't belong on the Rubicon Trail or traversing Moab, and we don't care for tents anyways. But the promise of newfound off-road performance and capability out of our relatively meager, street-focused Jeep, while still meeting on-road comfort requirements was too good to pass up.

Our goal is to be able to confidently explore two tracks and have a bit of fun in off-road areas, but at the same time we have no plans to visit a challenging off-road park with this Jeep, or go extreme hill climbing. So the TerrainContact A/T sounded like the right tire for the job.

​Also adding to Continental TerrainContact A/T appeal --

Our Jeep Grand Cherokee is equipped with OE Goodyear Fortera HL Edition all season tires. The Goodyears have their perks, but wintertime performance isn't one of them. And while we're strong proponents of snow tires, we've had some positive experiences with Continental all season tires in the wintertime. So we were willing and excited to give the TerrainContact A/T and its "9" Continental snow traction rating a shot as we plunged into another Michigan winter.

​According to Continental, the TerrainContact A/T is "The ideal all-terrain tire for CUV, SUV and Light Trucks with the durability to conquer dirt, gravel and grass while providing a quiet, comfortable ride on pavement. This tire strikes the perfect balance between off-road traction and on-road manners. We have 3 years of development, over 1,500 tires test on over 2,000,000 million miles - all to deliver a durable all terrain tire."

Those are the reasons we had to have the TerrainContact A/T; here's what we've discovered over the first thousand miles and a wide range of driving experiences with the Continental TerrainContact A/T.

Continental TerrainContact A/T (foreground) vs Jeep OE (background)

Continental TerrainContact A/T: On-Road

No doubt many of the TerrainContact A/T's 2,000,000 test miles occurred on-road, and in an effort to develop superior "on-road manners." After all, tires that deliver off-road traction at the expense of civility are a dime a dozen. Striking that optimum balance between all-terrain capability and on-road civility is the real challenge.

So how did they do with the TerrainContact A/T? Exceptionally well.

If you're a Jeep Grand Cherokee owner with OE tires, for example, we bet that you'll notice little to no increase in road noise with the TerrainContact A/T. Ditto for any other modern SUVs and trucks with reasonably good sound insulation.

Okay, but aren't you gearheads and haven't your ears been devastated by too many track days, absurd aftermarket exhausts, and road trips in your Z/28? After moonshine, isn't every liquor perceived as mild?

Sheesh. Rude.

…yes, all of that's true. However, having experienced tires both comfortable and torturous on the road we can (still) tell you (what?) that the TerrainContact A/T lands distinctly toward the comfortable end of that spectrum. Also, the more normal people among us (read: Women) have offered feedback, and they too have no quarrel with the TerrainContact A/T's on-road attributes. At city speeds, highway speeds, and everything in between the TerrainContact A/T is a legitimately quiet and comfortable tire.

We transitioned from a 17" to a 20" wheel with the acquisition of our most recent Jeep Grand Cherokee, and have enjoyed the much improved cornering dynamics associated with that change. The larger wheel + tire combination gives the Grand Cherokee a surefootedness that's lacking with the smaller wheel size, so we were hopeful that those satisfactory handling qualities wouldn't be compromised with the TerrainContact A/T.

Despite the TerrainContact A/T's all-terrain focus, deeper tread (10/32" OE vs 12/32" TerrainContact A/T), and increase in weight over the OE tire (about 4 lbs. per corner), that sense of surefootedness hasn't been disrupted whatsoever. It's plenty good on-road through the corners; no squishiness, lateral rolling, or soft sidewall sensation. When it comes to handling dynamics, the 20" TerrainContact A/T is virtually indistinguishable from the OE tire.

So the TerrainContact A/T is certainly a match for the big Jeep on-road. There is no sense of the chassis overwhelming the tire during standard maneuvers at typical road speeds.

TerrainContact A/T braking traction is there as well -- in dry and wet conditions (snow performance discussed below) it feels strong and hooked up. Side by side with a performance summer or all season tire (in warm ambient conditions) we're confident that the TerrainContact A/T would show a threshold braking disadvantage, but the same could be said for the OE tire.

We're very pleased, and somewhat surprised with just how well the TerrainContact A/T manages regular, everyday driving on-road. We anticipated having to live with some comfort or dynamic compromise, but we've found none.

We have, however, observed a small decrease in fuel economy. Initial impressions were that our 6 cylinder Jeep was just a bit more sluggish off the line, and we sensed the engine laboring more than normal to get up to speed. According to the onboard mpg calculator our average is down about 0.5 mpg (2-3%) with the TerrainContact A/T. (Update: A few months in we'd estimate the drop in overall fuel economy to be more like 1.5 mpg.)

​​Continental TerrainContact A/T: Off-road

​We were eager to get a taste of what the TerrainContact A/T has to offer in an off-road environment, so we quickly ventured out onto rural dirt roads, then off-road areas where the OE tires previously floundered.

On hard packed dirt and gravel the TerrainContact A/T offers tremendous lateral and longitudinal traction. Change of direction in particular is seriously good. The tires bite hard and the front end follows the steering command, almost no matter how aggressive. ​If travel down dirt and gravel roads is a regular occurrence, the TerrainContact A/T is an ideal match.

​A sandy hill climb with undulations was the previous undoing of our Grand Cherokee with OE tires. Here the TerrainContact A/T really established its all-terrain superiority, and offered clear next level traction. We were able to complete the hill climb with little drama, and without carrying much momentum on the way up. The only way we made it to the top prior to the TerrainContact A/T was via the trusty "slingshot" technique.

The Continental TerrainContact A/T is also content when presented with a bit of mud.

All in all the Continental TerrainContact A/T is a fun and capable tire off-road. It facilitates exploration, and opens up opportunities that simply aren't there for 4x4's equipped with street-oriented OE tires.

Is the TerrainContact A/T as capable as a true off-road tire? Nope. We found its off-road limitations in loose sediment. The TerrainContact A/T struggled to find traction in a deeper sandy area that presents little challenge for legitimate off-road rubber.

However, that's probably outside of the intended TerrainContact A/T environment, and beyond what most will encounter en route to their backwoods destination. The TerrainContact A/T is a functional, not recreational off-road tire. And once again, most tires that manage those sorts of challenging off-road conditions will audibly remind you of that capability 100% of the time while on-road. The Continental TerrainContact A/T delivers measurably superior off-road performance with very little compromise on-road.

Continental TerrainContact A/T: Snow/winter performance

This section of our TerrainContact A/T review will be a work in progress as we experience more of what winter has to offer, but we have mixed impressions following a "dusting" and then a winter storm that dropped about 6" in our area.

For reference, it's our opinion that the OE tires are not a match for the Jeep in wintry conditions. The Grand Cherokee's traction system clearly needs more grip than the OE tires provide to function as intended.

With a thin layer of snow on the pavement, the TerrainContact A/T performed well in a figure-8 driving exercise. The Jeep's traction system (transfer of torque and Brake Lock Differential) engaged with immediate and tangible effect. On turn in and mid-corner we sensed less understeer and more front end grip than with the OE tire.

While some tire organizations conduct threshold brake testing with full ABS-engagement in snow and ice, our methodology is a bit different.

One of the strongest attributes of a quality snow tire, or capable winter weather tire is the ability to stay "above" the ABS threshold while effectively scrubbing speed. As you're approaching a stop, does brake application almost immediately engage ABS and keep you skittering forward with little deceleration, or can you modulate the brake to avoid, and both engage and disengage ABS at will?

In wintry conditons, a summer tire or mischaracterized all season tire (see When the snow flies, not every all season tire is equal) will almost immediately trigger ABS under braking due to the lack of longitudinal traction. Also, once ABS is engaged, even backing off the brake pedal often won't coax the brake system back into normal operation.

Continental TerrainContact A/T winter road traction and braking performance is a bit of a mixed bag. First off, the positive:

Where there is undisturbed inches of snow (as pictured immediately below), the TerrainContact A/T does very well.

You can sense the deeper, all-terrain tread in its element here. It digs in and is strong under acceleration, braking, and handling. We're confident the TerrainContact A/T could claw its way through many, many inches of snow. A clear advantage over the OE tire.

However, the TerrainContact A/T failed to impress on well-traveled, mixed and messy winter roads.

It's in conditions like these that snow tire compounds prove their merit and really shine; where the tire construction and compound characteristics make the difference. Without loose snow to dig into, the TerrainContact A/T tread attributes aren't much of an advantage, and the tire feels overmatched. We got good and squirrelly under hard braking on messy roads...

Looking elsewhere in Continental's tire lineup, the CrossContact LX20 (SUV/CUV all season) has a 740 treadwear grade and 70,000 mile treadlife warranty, and has by and large met longevity expectations.

Continental TerrainContact A/T: Conclusion

The TerrainContact A/T is an excellent all-terrain tire for those who wish to increase the versatility of their SUV or truck without significant compromise.

Our final scorecard, and "TL;DR" version of the review goes something like this:

On-road: Exceptional. Equal to OE in every way except fuel economy.Off-road: A drastic improvement over OE. On dirt and gravel roads the Continental TerrainContact A/T is exemplary, and capable of managing most everything you'll encounter during a backwoods adventure.Snow/winter: Very good deep/undisturbed snow traction characteristics. Above average'ish in mixed road conditions (relative to all season tires), but not by any means excellent, and well short of snow tire performance.

The all-terrain space is increasingly competitive, and we suspected Continental wouldn't throw their hat in the ring until they got it right.

Job well done. The Continental TerrainContact A/T is one of the best, and definitely one of the most civilized all-terrain tires we've ever experienced. If you have priorities similar to ours, put the TerrainContact A/T on your tire radar.